I got to taste all the new Sleepy Hollow Vineyard wines. The vineyards are located in the Northern section of the Santa Lucia Highlands ‘valley’ and spread across three sites, aptly named Sleepy Hollow North, West, and South.
Two things should be noted about these unique sites, first, as you head south towards Paso Robles the temperature increases about a degree or so every mile (AVA is 18 miles long), and second, the cool ocean breezes are channeled down the valley dropping the temperature enough to stall grape development by 11 am every day.
This produces extended hang time from bud break in February to harvest in October resulting in exceptional quality, depth, and complexity in both their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.
Their Winemaker Kamee Knutson attributes their exceptional success to unique vineyard sites, matching French clones to those specifically chosen sites, use of French Oak only and a ‘Hands Off’ approach to her winemaking.
The single vineyard releases really raise the bar to atmospheric heights, unfortunately you must visit the Winery to get a hold of them, none are available in Indiana.
Vine to Table 